Rotary hoe cultivator



Oct. 25, 1932. G. E. KARL 1,334,720

ROTARY HOE CULTIVATOR Original Filed March 8, 1950 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Oct. 25, 1932. G. E. KARL ROTARY nos CULTIVATOR Original Filed March 8, 1930 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Oct. 25, 1 932 um'rso PATENT oF IcE GEORGE E. KARL, or nnnnn, onto, 'AssIGNon; BY MESNE Assure-unsure, To rma DUNHAM COMPANY, OF BE RE A,

OHIO, A CORPORATION OF OHIO ROTARY non oun rrvnron Application filed Mal-eh 8,

This invention relates to an improvement.

in cultivators of the rotary hoe type in which there is a large number of cultivatoror pulverizer' wheels" carried upon a 15 transversely mounted shaft or shafts, each wheel having a number of curved prongs or blades which penetrate the soil, pulverizing and lifting itas theyrotate forward through it/ a, An Object of this invention is to provide an improved rotary wheel for use in cult vators or pulverizers of this type.

Another object is to provide a wheel of this character which can he made of cast-iron instead of malleable iron as wheels of this kind are nowns'ually made. Another object is to provide-an improved arrangement of gangs .of wheels which Wlll give a large amount of pulverizing and cul-. "3 tivating to the soil.

Another object is to provide an arrange ment of gangs of wheels which will be selfv clearing, so that the implement canbe oper- 26 ated over trashy ground. 1

form of pronged wheel which will have good soil penetrating qualities combined with lightness and strength. g

Another object is to provide an improved 3 form of prong and shoulder which will serve as a limiting stop to regulate the penetration of the prongs into the soil.

Another object 1s toprovide a two gang implement of this character which is flexible so 5 as to follow the contour of the ground which can be safely weighted where the soil condi tions demand greater weight in order to obtain the necessary'penetration. These and other oh'ects as will hereinafter appear are accomplished by this invention which is fully described in the following specification and shown in the accompanying drawings in whichembodying the invention; I

horizontal Another object is to provide animprov-ed Fi ur 1 is a to lan view f? e l' i g e A p p i I littleweight to the wheeh .The backr b 17" 90 1930. Serial No. 434,228..

h Fig. 2 is an end elevation of thesameg 7 I Fig. 3 is an enlarged detailfront elevation of a'wheel of the front gang; s Fig. 4 is a similar viewof a modified form of wheel; I fl V i v Fig. 5 is an enlarged partialsection on the line 5-5 of Fig. 3; i Fig. 6 is an enlarged partial section on the line 6.6 of'Fig. 4; Fig. is an enlarged section'onthe line 77ofFig.3;- I 'i f Fig. .8 is an enlarged section'on the line 88'of Fig. 4:; A

Fig. 9 is an enlarged view of still another form of wheel; and 7 fl i i i V I Figs. 10 and llare sections on the line 10 -lO andlle-ll of Fig.9.

p The embodimentillustrated compr ses the cultivatormade up of. a weight carrying :frame l0 havin'g a tongue 11 and a'forecarriage 12 mounted therein inany well known manner, the weight carrying framelO being flexibly mounted at each side to a shaft carrying frame 13; Shafts (not shown) are mounted at their two ends in suitable bearings in the endsof the shaft carrying frames 13. Upon the front shaft is mounted a series of wheels 14 which have hubs 15' by means of which they arespa'ced. Likewisea series of wheels. 16 are rotatably mounted upon the rear shaft. c

The front wheels 14 are provided with a series of prongs 17 for penetratingthe soil, each prong having a forward face which is slightly forwardly curved to assist the prong in entering the soil. These prongs are narrowest atthe tip and widest at the base, as shown in Fig. 5, and'as shown in Fig. 7 each has a front face 1'? which is relatively wide and shallow from front to bilClQ but having a central rib 17 which, as shown, is so proportioned as to give the prong gneatrigidity I I ferences. \Vhile these wheels maybe made" alike, certain advantages are to be gained by using a different wheel which will now be, de

scribed. V

The front wheel being in advance, necessarily has to do thefirst breaking of the ground, and for this purpose it is advisable to make the prongs sharper and preferably narrower than those of the rear wheels. The rear wheel, on the other hand, may be made somewhat broader and more spade-like as the soil penetrated by this wheel is well loosened by the front wheel. By using a broader prong on the rear wheel a greater pulverizing effect is obtained. The IBlQtlVBCI'OSS- section of these two wheels is as shown in Figs. 7 and 8.. For certain'soils, it is also preferable to use a somewhat smaller hoe wheel in the rear than in front.

The weight carrying frame 10 is so flexibly mounted at each end on the shaft carrying frames 13, as to throw much more weight on the front gang of wheels than on the rear gang. Any weight added to this frame is distributed between the two gangs of wheels in a predetermined proportion.

Moreover, this flexible connection enables these gangs to follow the contour of the soil without undue strains being placed on the frame and without transmitting through the tongue 11 a whipping action to the forecarriage. This lack of whipping action ispar- 9 ticularly advantageous where the imple ment is drawn by horses and no forecarriage is used.

By using wheels 14 and 16 of any given size and by spacing the axles just such an amount apart as to produce an overlap of not more than two prongs at one time a great advantage has been secured, resulting in the fact that these wheels are largely self clearing so that an implement of this type can be run over a field in which there is much trash without this trash becoming wound'up in the wheels themselves. This is an advantage of considerable importance inasmuch as tillage wheels heretofore used and having several prongs overlapping have been unable to oper-,

ate for any considerable length of time over trashy ground without this trash becoming ,wound up in the wheels themselvesand having to be cleared therefrom. i

It is also obvious that, by a proper spacing front faces of substantially inner ends of the prongs, said flanges serving V as depth regulators.

of the axles, the same results can be attained between wheels of equal or unequal size or between wheels having an equal or an unequal number of prongs or any combination thereof.

In Figs. 9 and 10 is shown a preferred form of the rotary hoe wheel having a plurality of prongs 19, each having a forward face which is forwardly curved to assist the prong in-entering the soil. The rear of this prong is provided with arib 19" which is relatively shallow and preferably centrally located, while a deeper rib 19 connects the inner end of the rib 19 with the forward faceof the prong 19. Z I I These two forms of central light ribs proyidegreatstiifness to the prongs, and it has been found in actual practice that this form -of hoe wheel hasvery superior penetrating ability due probably to the cutting action of the forward rib 19*, which thereby greatly assists the spade-likeportions 19 of the prong to enter the soil.

WVhile I have shown and described but a few embodiments of my invention, it is to be understood thatit is capable of many modifications. Changes, therefore, in the construction and arrangement may be made which do not depart from the spirit and scope of the invention as disclosed in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A one-piece rotary hoe wheel having a hub, a plurality of radially disposed prongs which areforwardly arcuately curved, said p ijongs having rearwardly extending central r1 s.

2. A one-piece rotary hoe wheel having a hub, a plurality of radially disposed prongs which areforwardly arcuately curved, said prongs having rearwardly extending central ribs, the rib of one prong being carried into the front face of the next prong.

3. A one-piece rotary hoe wheel having a hub, a plurality of radially disposed prongs which are forwardly arcuately curved, said prongs having rearwardly extending central ribs, the rib increasing in depth from the tip to the base.

at. A rotary hoe wheel having a hub, a plurality of radially disposed prongs which are forwardly arcuately curved, said prongs having rearwardly extending central ribs, the

front faces of the prongs being connected'at the inner ends by concavely arcuate flanges which serve as depth regulators.

5. A rotary hoe wheel having a hub, a plurality of radially disposed prongs which are forwardly arcuately curved, said prongs having rearwardly extending central ribs, the the prongs being connected at the inner ends by concavely arcuate flanges of the same width as that of the 6. In an implement of the class described, a frame, front and rear shafts carried thereby, a plurality of hoe wheels on each of said shafts, the hoe wheels on the one gang hav ing broader prongs than those of the other gang.

7. In an implement of the class described, a frame, front and rear shaft-s carried thereby, a plurality of hoe wheels on each of said shafts, the hoe wheels on the one gang being smaller than the hoe wheels on the other gang, the one gang having broader prongs than those of the other gang.

8. In an implement of the class described, a frame, front and rear shafts carried thereby, a plurality of hoe wheels on each of said shafts, the hoe wheels on the one shaft havingfmore prongs, than those on the other sha t.

a top frame, a side frame flexibly connected to each side of the top frame, shafts journalled at their ends in said side frames, and hoe wheels on said shafts.

10. In an implement of the class described, a top frame, a side frame flexibility connected to each side of the top frame, shafts journalled at their ends in said side frames, and hoe wheels on said shafts, said top frame being connected to said side frames nearer the front shaft than the rear shaft whereby the greater portion of the weight of the top frame is taken by the front shaft.

11. A rotary hoe wheel having a hub, a plurality of radially disposed prongs which are forwardly arcuately curved, the front faces of the prongs being connected at their inner ends by concavely arcuate flanges of substantially the same width as that of the inner ends of the prongs, said flanges serving as depth regulators, and a rib on the forward face of each prong extending to the next adjacent prong.

12. A rotary hoe wheel having a hub, a plurality of radially disposed prongs which are forwardly arcuately curved, the front faces of the prongs being connected at their inner ends by concavely arcuate flanges of substantially the same width as that of the inner ends of the prongs, said flanges serving as depth regulators, and a central rib on the forward face of each prong extending to the next adjacent prong.

13. A rotary hoe wheel having a hub, a plurality of radially disposed prongs which are forwardly arcuately curved, the front faces of the prongs being connected at their inner ends by concavely arcuate flanges of substantially the same width as that of the inner ends of the prongs, said flanges serving as depth regulators, and a relatively shallow rib on the rear face of each prong being deepest near the front base of the prong and tapering to its point.

14. A rotary hoe wheel having a hub, a

9. In an implement of the class described,

plurality of radially disposed prongs which are forwardly arcuately curved, the front faces of the prongs being connected at their inner ends by concavely arcuate flanges of substantially the same width as that of the inner ends of the prongs, said flanges serving as depth regulators, and a relatively shallow rib on the rear face of each prong being deepest near the front base of the prong and arcuately tapering to its point.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this 29th day of December, 1929.

GEORGE E. KARL. 

